The Once and Future Princess
by Squiet
Summary: In this little crossover fic Gwen confines the Doctor with her only child, who was born 9 months after the death of King Arthur. Left on Merlin's doorstep almost a thousand years later, things will become complicated when the Doctor visits again.
1. Prologue - The Queen and the Timelord

The Queen of Camelot paced the throne room nervously. Even the draft Merlin had offered could not ease her. How could she ease herself, when she knew the meeting with this—what would she call _it, _a man?—being was beyond the most ancient magic? That it dealt and was associated with something beyond her time, beyond anything that Merlin had simply looked at her and walked out of the room? The curiosity was unbearable, but she would soon find out it's name, it's species…

"'Ello?"

Gwen looked up, startled. She self-conciously placed the royal seal into her pocket, safe. "Are you…"

"The last timelord?" the man raised an eyebrow. Every step he took forward, Gwen took a tiny step back. "The mysterious man Merlin had referred to you?"

"Y..yes." Gwen's eyes grew wide. She was surprised. She expected him to have green skin, or definitely…not a human, not a pleasant-looking man. No.

The stranger's eyes drifted down Gwen's most favorite dress. Nervously, she smoothed out the beautiful silk. Her fingers cascaded down the countless beads sewn into her skirt, forming flowers on the red fabric. "Beautiful dress, my lady."

The queen gave him a small nod. "Yes. T…Thank…" she cleared her throat, trying to ease her shaky voice, "Thank you."

She was quite amazed by his wear. He wore some kind of clothing made out of grey cloth, something that would be worn on a woman. However, it suited him quite well. How, well, it was beyond Gwen's imagining, but she could only assume it was a wealthy wear wherever he came from.

The stranger leaned forward. "The child? Your daughter? Where is she?"

"Up in her nursery." She bit her lip. "Sleeping."

The self-proclaimed 'timelord' nods. "Yes, yes." He turns around and looks down at the plain, tiled floor. Goosebumps popped up on Guinevere's arms as she remembered the memories cast upon that floor. Her tears once fell on that floor. Her husband's anger was sprayed across it. She'd seen many villagers receive upsetting news on that floor. She wouldn't want her daughter to experience that. "Her name, what is it?" he waved his arm about. "For personal reference, in case I happen to encounter a charming literature-loving alien for if I'd tell her I've met the Once and Future Princess?"

Gwen turned her head to the right. _What, did he just say? _"Eliana." She replied, hesitant. "Princess Eliana Penndragon."

"Princess Eliana Penndragon." The man replied, sinking his hands into his pockets. "Lovely, wonderful name. Although not much in a name…" he drifted off, looking up. "So."

He looked over at the queen. "What _exactly _do you want with me?"

"Merlin told me you are of power much beyond the old religion." Queen Guinevere told him. "That's all he's told me. So what exactly can you do?"

"Time." The man gave a thin smile. "Is my specialty. I can travel through it, forwards, backwards, in very rare circumstances beyond alternate universes...maybe both traveling through time and space at the same time, when I feel daring."

Gwen stared at him indignantly. "You can…travel through time?"

The man nodded. "As well as space."

The queen shook her head in disbelief. Time? He could travel through time? My, Merlin could hardly slow time down, if this man can travel through it what else could he do? "By traveling through time, may I clarify, you mean you can travel through the years as they go by, instantly?"

The man nodded. "Yes. Quite bright for a human at this time."

"For a human? At this time?"

The man scratched his head. "What I can do for you? Can you decide?"

Gwen looked down at her feet. This creature could travel through time! How could she use this meeting to use? How can she fufill her one desire? How could she meet…

"Wait." Gwen looked up at the man. "Can you carry people with you as you travel through time?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "_Yes. _Yes, and so?"

"Can you carry Eliana with you?"

The man's jaw dropped. He grabbed his jaw in shock and turned around. "You want me to take your daughter through time, farther from you than you can possibly imagine?"

"Farther from me," Gwen took a step forward. "but closer to her father."

The man shook his head, letting out a laugh. "If Arthurian Legend serves my mind right, you want me to bring her to the Lake of Avalon, to the time when Arthur will rise again?" the man stared at Gwen straight in the eyes. "You do realize legend has foretold that the time will be horrid, a time Abilon needs him the most, an apocalypse for what the modern people call it?"

Gwen took no effort to process the information this time. "Yes."

The man gave one last look to the queen. He stared at her warm, brown eyes, wishing she'd suddenly change her mind. He didn't want to give her the big speech about the dangers of time traveling, and wished she'd regret on her own.

_Find some sense, my lady…._

"Very well." The man turned to exit the room. "Consider it done."

"Oh, thank you." Gwen gave a sigh of relief. "But your name. I'd like to know the name who would take my daughter through time."

The man put his hands on his hips. "Most people call me The Doctor."


	2. Colorings and Stolen Screwdrivers

**A/N: The Doctor in this chapter is the 10****th****, right at the end of Tennant's last episode. The rest of this note is nothing important :P**

'Ello? *Taps imaginary microphone* Is this on?

Firstly I'd like to address something; the description hasn't been changing because I'm an attention whore and want more views, I just wanted to test some little things about this ; I'm new you see, a little newbie to this website.

By the way, hello! Hi! I've spent the last few days rewatching Merlin and Doctor Who because I've written a few roughdrafts of this, and none seemed quite…sensible.

Enjoy all you 97 viewers (at least at this moment)

The ring of the doorbell was something the shaggy old Victorian home was shocked to hear. The walls creaked and the neighbors raised their eyebrows. As the soft and innocent _Ding-dong _rang through the hallways it was met with thundering footsteps, angry and surprised, for Merlin held a low-profile. No one ever rang his doorbell.

In the snug and comfy living room a small head peeked up from behind the couch. "What was that Merlin?"

His eyes worn from thousands of year's wait and sparkling with hope, Merlin gave the young girl a reassuring look. "Don't worry about it."

3-year old Eliana turned back to her colorings, picking half of a pink crayon from her bucket. She was awestruck from the loud ringing that echoed through the home like a thunderstorm. She let go of the fuzzy maroon pillow she had clung onto and tended to her paper princesses and stars. However, taking a quick look behind her, she noticed Merlin was too occupied with the door. With childish curiosity and an inherited brave spirit she slowly crawled away from her colorings and tip-toed through the kitchen, eager to eavesdrop.

When she heard Merlin open the door a weak whimper escaped from between her lips, for she'd never heard Merlin yell with anger before.

"This is supposed to be a private residence," said Merlin, his voice filled with fury of which Eliana had never heard from her young and kind guardian. "I would be pleased if you would leave."

Eliana heard the stranger at the door click his tongue. "Oh please, Merlin, wait a few more hours, I would've regenerated and then you'd have a non-stupid approach to get rid of me."

Merlin scoffed, his breathing hard from surprise. "You shouldn't have come."

"This is her third birthday, Merlin. Do you think I would miss that?"

Eliana peeked her small head into the foyer, catching a glimpse of the stranger. He wore a bitter expression, leaning against the doorway as if he was in pain. His suit was obviously ripped in various places and smelled strongly of smoke.

"Your job has already been done. Barely done right, in fact—Gwen told you to bring her to Arthur, yet I find Eliana on my doorstep a couple thousand years later."

"Eliana needs to be old enough to understand first." the stranger's calm and collected voice was clashing like day and night with Merlin's angry one. "I also want to see her, if you don't mind."

"Old enough? Oh please, timelord, you're too considerate."

"Sinciere, aren't I?" said the man with bitter sarcasm. "After a thousand years, you don't even comment on how I haven't aged a day! Same with you, Merlin, you look as young as you did when we first met!"

Merlin waved the forced compliment away. "Please leave."

Eliana was intrigued by how sad the man was. All she can remember is the grinning face of Merlin and her own smile, as well as the perfect smirks in her coloring books. _A frown, _Eliana learned, _is a smile upside down._

Merlin shook his head, his face gaunt. "I'm not going to let you in. Get back in your ridiculous time machine and go."

The stranger's eyes hardened. "Please. I need this."

"Regenerate and come back a different man, I'll still say no!"

But it was Eliana's fighting curiosity that warmed the dying heart of the 10th Doctor's, her springing up onto her feet and running towards the doorway like there was no tomorrow. The Doctor kneeled down to face the girl, Merlin standing back, appalled to see his ward in the most dangerous man's touch. Eliana stared at the faint glow of life slowly slipping away from the Doctor's eyes, his mouth trying to formulate the simplest smile.

"I'm the Doctor, Eliana." he said. "Happy birthday."

The Doctor's weak smile grew to a grin, absent-mindedly murmuring, "Oh, look at you. So _young, _sopretty; very much like your mother."

Eliana's warm brown eyes melted into the Doctor's, as she asked, "What's a mother?"

"Oh Merlin," said the Doctor, "I sometimes wonder if your parenting skills are satisfactory."

Merlin crossed his arms, furrowing his eyebrows. "Hurry up, Doctor."

The man, which Eliana perceived as 'Doctor' pulled her into a quick hug and said, "I hope and wish you the best."

And with a quick kiss on the forehead the Doctor walked back out into the brisk morning air, and the door swung shut, Merlin placing a hand on Eliana's back. "Go back to your colorings, Eliana."

Eliana obediently nodded, her tiny, pudgy fingers fiddling with the pen-like thing she had sneakily grabbed from the Doctor's pocket.


	3. Bow Tie Man and a Royal Pain in the As

**A/N: **Hey guys, it's a new chapter! *Dodges water bottles and shoes* No excuse can be made for not updating this story in such a long time. I haven't been terribly ill, tragically immobilized or dead, I've just been very, very busy. However, this chapter _is _here and I'm 80% sure I can get another one out today or next week. Sorry about all of this...I've been dreaming up the plot while I'm in the shower, so you can say I'm not entirely done with the story yet. And maybe chapters will be longer... YES, but maybe...

**11 Years Later**

The young girl living at 9575 Lightwood Way never forgot her 3rd birthday, young reader. This girl was a mistake. This girl was never meant to be born, Guinevere Pendragon wasn't supposed to ever feel joy ever again after the death of her husband. She was just a mistake on an essay, and it would take a while for time to finally erase her entirely.

But this young girl didn't know this; neither did the Doctor. No one did, really. She was just the girl who walked into 3rd period Biology, apprehensive to the bone. She heard the whispers in the hallways; there was a guest teacher in place of Ms. Lane. And apparently he was weird and "just amazingly handsome." Eliana ignored all their comments and fell into her chair in the front row, pulling her beat-up agenda out of her backpack. She didn't care about how this new teacher looked, neither did she take into consideration how some girls started to fancy him.

Eliana looked up at the board to find someone else's handwriting. _MR. SMITH, _read big letters, as well as the agenda under it. She scribbled and scratched into her book, but once she got to number 3 on the agenda, she noticed Mr. Smith staring straight at her.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

The guest teacher turned away, then pivoted around to face the board. She could tell he was grinning. "Oh no, no. Eliana Nilmer, wasn't it?" he turned back around, his face forcefully stern, a grin just waiting to pop out again. "Isn't it peculiar your surname is made up of the same letters as in the name Merlin?"

"…no, Mr. Smith."

The teacher nodded, sinking his hands into his pockets. Eliana finished the agenda just as the bell rang, skeptical about this Mr. Smith. He was just…weird. Most teachers were fat and chugged down coffee faster than you can ask a question but Mr. Smith seemed to run on true energy, not caffeine. And he was very skinny too, his hair perfectly tailored. But is this why everyone thought he was so weird?

Once the bell rang Mr. Smith clapped his hand once. "Good afternoon, class!"

The class stared at him with tired eyes, saying nothing.

His enthusiasm tangibly disappeared slightly from his eyes, but he maintained his grin. "I'm your guest teacher, Mr. Smith…"

He cut his sentence off as he pointed at the boy raising his hand and was sitting behind Eliana. "Yes?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Smith, but where did Ms. Lane go?"

Mr. Smith shrugged, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, I dunno. She was just out."

"Ms. Lane never misses a day."

Tugging on his bow tie, the teacher gave the boy a look that was trying too hard to be clueless. "Well, she _is _human. She'll have to take a day off once in a while."

After a short moment of confusion, Mr. Smith looked down at the desk. "Well, let's start with the lesson, shall we?"

He was a mouthful, that Mr. Smith; he spoke too fast, too hastily yet everyone understood every single word and it seemed as if Mr. Smith taught so well, the students learned just as well. He climbed over desks, looked out the window, and even once threw a pencil in the air and caught it with his mouth. The students did their best—the slackers even got some work done—but yet Eliana still felt a tingling suspicion. Mr. Smith acted very weirdly around Eliana, and when lunch came he was nibbling on a chip, staring at her from across the room. Boys started to think he was a pedophile whilst girls were just downright jealous.

_What did Eliana think? _

When Eliana arrived at home she opened her bedside drawer with the key she'd always kept under her mattress. She felt a sort of tingly feeling when she took that thing into her hands. The last time she touched this she was three years old; and after all these years, she still didn't know who the Doctor was, and what the hell this pen-like thing was.

"Eliana?" the front door opened and then closed. "Eliana, I'm home!"

Eliana quickly tucked the screwdriver back into the drawer and shoved the key under her mattress just so she could come running down the stairs like she had always done and catch Merlin into a big hug. He took care of her so well she never stopped to ask why he always looked so young. It just so happens love can blind you.

"How was school today?" asked Merlin, walking into the kitchen.

Eliana trailed behind, pulling herself up to sit on the counter. "Nice." She watched as Merlin opened the fridge. "Although, we had an odd guest teacher in Science today."

Just hearing Eliana say 'Odd' sent chills down the sorcerer's spine. Her life has been everything but out of the ordinary, except for her third birthday, that is. He set the carton of milk on the counter and said, "What was his name?"

"Oh, I don't know. Something really generic though. John Smith."

_That memorable alibi. _Merlin thought. _The Doctor's alibi._

"Tell me, Eliana," Merlin opened the carton, watching suspicion spread on Eliana's face in a shadow, "what did he look like?"

"Um, well, he was dark-haired, very fair, wore a bow tie and…well, was very jumpy."

"Still not ginger," said Merlin. "I'm astounded."

Now Eliana was irresistibly curious. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Merlin waved the statement away, drinking straight out of the carton, "Just a…reference, to a very old TV show."

Eliana watched indignantly as she watched Merlin chug the milk down. "You've always taught me to not drink straight out of the carton, Merlin."

Merlin threw the carton in the trash, wagging a finger at her, "That is why you should never drink milk out of the carton."

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "Never."

Eliana rolled her eyes and hopped off of the counter. "I'll go do homework now."

"You do that."

Then, to normal routine, after having a nice chat with Merlin Eliana as always would walk up to her room and start with her homework. However, there was a sensitive topic that Merlin would never mean to discuss with Eliana. Her third birthday.

Once she was in her first year in school, she was starting to question the mysterious man who showed up on the porch that day. She started to draw pictures of him, leaning against the doorway, his suit smoking and his face contorted in pain. She never showed these pictures to Merlin of course—she was smart enough to know that. But when she tried to poke the topic of the Doctor, Merlin just slithered past it, as if he had a lot of experience with avoiding the truth.

Eliana opened her drawer and pulled out her latest sketch. Of course stick figures and bad coloring of her first years in school weren't accurate, but this one, this one was very professional. There was her doorway, the Doctor in his suit and Converse shoes, his pen-like thing sticking out from his pocket. The thing is, whenever Eliana tried to draw him smiling, it just didn't look right. The smile looked painfully pasted to his face. It was as if the man was completely miserable. Truly dying.

_The Doctor is probably dead now. _She thought to herself, tucking the sketches back into her desk. She quickly grabbed the pen thing from under her mattress and set it on her desk as she worked.

Halfway through biology homework, her pencil broke. Sighing and throwing it into the trash, she glanced at the pen thing. Figuring it was probably just a very extravagant pen, she took it into her hand and pressed the button.

_Click, _she expected to hear, but instead was greeted by a _Whir. _

"What?" she said aloud.

She pressed the button again, now holding it down. The top turned a light on and made a very annoying whirring noise. She pointed it at the window and screamed as sparks flew out at her and the window falling into pieces onto the pavement below. The pen had destroyed the window.

"M—" she stopped herself. Merlin would take this away if he knew about this! This Doctor had a pen that could break things! And for some odd reason, it didn't have any ink.

Eliana decided to set it back on her desk and get out a black marker. Worked well enough.

Just before she could put the marker onto her paper, she heard another sound. It sounded like nothing she'd heard before, and it came from outside. Merlin certainly knew it though.

"GOD DAMMIT!" he yelled from downstairs. "BLOODY MAN CAN'T UNDERSTAND A WORD!"

Eliana flew out of her chair and down the stairs to find Merlin just walking out of the front door. She followed, and in the middle of the road was a blue box. A police box.

As Eliana stood in awe, Merlin ran towards the box and kicked the door, twice, thrice. He started banging on it until the door swung open to reveal….

"Mr. Smith?" Eliana said, taken aback.

"Eliana!" Mr. Smith grinned, his arms open wide.

"Doctor." Merlin growled.

"Doctor?" Eliana shrieked.

"Doctor!" Merlin yelled.

"Merlin." The Doctor nodded.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Merlin took the man by the collar and shook him. "You're supposed to be in some far away galaxy or even in the future! Where's your companion? Come on, come out!"

"Amy and Rory are…..living their normal life now." The Doctor pursed his lips together, "In other words, I'm single again."

"What are you talking about?" Eliana demanded. Merlin shook his head and grunted whereas the Doctor's eyes grew wide. "What on Earth is this? I know the Doctor, and I'm not stupid!" she pointed a finger at the Doctor, "You, you, bow tie man, you're not the Doctor. He doesn't look like you at all! He was a little taller, slimmer…"

"Oi!" the Doctor looked at her indignantly. "I got married! I put on some weight, not my fault!"

The Doctor clutched the TARDIS door. "And you, Ms. Pendragon, you were a royal pain in the ass! You hear that? You wanted your diaper changed every other hour and you always wanted me to rock you until you went to sleep! Sure, you exercised my arms but it really hurt!"

"What?" Eliana raised her eyebrows.

"I raised you until you were two and a half!" the Doctor yelled. "And Rose, and Martha! Jesus Christ, you haven't even met Donna…"

"I don't remember you raising me!"

"Because I took all of your memories, even the slightly-developed ones before I gave you to Merlin. You were technically born two and a half years after you fell out of your mother's stomach."

Eliana did not know what to believe. She knew this man wasn't the Doctor, she knew that much—but what she didn't know was if he really did raise her. Merlin looked like he was accepting this situation, so she turned to him. "Is this man really the Doctor, Merlin?"

Merlin sighed and placed his hands on Eliana's shoulders. "Eliana, it's about time we've had this talk…"

"If you're about to tell me how a baby is born then it just so happens I already do know." Eliana said matter-of-factly.

"I'm going to tell you why the Doctor looks different." Merlin said calmly. "He's not human. He is the last of his kind; the Timelords. When a Timelord dies he doesn't just die, no—he regenerates every single cell in his body and becomes a different man—different personality too, but same memories. Get it now?"

"Bloody hell," Eliana murmured under her breath, letting out a sigh. "don't lie to me Merlin!"

"It's true!"

"Oh, of course it is!" she yelled, turning around, flustered. This was the first time she had ever argued with Merlin. "The lunch lady at school is most certainly a lizard!"

"Actually," the Doctor hopped in the middle of the two and threw his arms over their shoulders, "there are some lizard-people…" he lowered his voice, pointing down at the ground, "…down there."

Eliana roguishly pushed his arm away, taking a few steps back in disbelief. "You're mad. You are mad."

Merlin glared at the Doctor. "You're not helping, 'John.'"

"You're not helping!" cried the Doctor.

"Well do that mind thing!" said Merlin. "When you bump heads or put your fingers on her head or something like that."

"And what do I give her? My entire life?"

"Yes!"

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to know that."

In reply, Merlin glared at him in such a way he reminded himself of Arthur, which made him feel a little guilty. "It'll make her understand."

Merlin looked over to Eliana to find himself yet again staring at Arthur. She had her mother's complexion but slightly lighter skin and her father's nose. Oh, it was torture to look at her but it was nice to at the same time, because like the Doctor he had much guilt instilled in him but kept trying to look forward. She had a slightly bewildered face on but he smiled as he pretended the Doctor wasn't there. "If you understand how hard it is to live a thousand years with guilt, then maybe you'll accept who he is."

"What?" said Eliana.

"As I said," Merlin twitched as he heard the Doctor's 11th vocal chords, "I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to know what happens to everyone who travels with me."

"To lessen guilt that we both know you have I'll say that not all of them have been damned." said Merlin. "You've managed to make up for it at the end."

"Like Rose and Martha and Donna and Amy and Rory?" the Doctor furrowed his eyebrows, his stance slightly more tense. "I like to think Rose is getting along with my clone, whereas sometimes I think she ditched him right after Bad Wolf Bay. Martha's doing well with UNIT and Mickey, but sometimes I wonder if she's dead. And Donna doesn't even know me anymore. Amy and Rory…."

Merlin interrupted the Doctor, knowing Amy and Rory were still a fresh wound. "Can you just get on with it?"

The Doctor nodded grimly, then stepped forward towards Eliana. She stepped back at first but the Doctor forced his fingers on the temples of her forehead causing her to stand still. Eliana's eyes drew shut and her hands were clasped into fists so tight her fingers grew white.

Then she relaxed, slowly opening her eyes. A grin started to grow on the Doctor's face as Eliana smiled. "I remember. The TARDIS. The Doctor, looking down at me from a cradle. Rose, Martha…and there was the 10th. He raised me, taught me how to walk, to read, so much in so little time."

Merlin felt uneasy as he watched the girl he had raised for nearly all her life remember the most dangerous man known to humans raise her. He loved her so much and kept her as long as he could because she was so special, so little, so young. He had the entire universe in his head and she just had everything he had taught her. But he was still life-threatening. He was brilliant, but you can die by his fault.

"Believe him now?" said Merlin gruffly.

Eliana nodded, grinning at him. "I can't believe it."

"Neither can I." the Doctor held his arms out, grinning. "Oh, Eliana."

But she moved away from his grasp. "I'm sorry, but you're just not the same person."

Expecting disappointment on the Doctor's face, Merlin was surprised when he scoffed. "Oh here we go again. 'You're not the Doctor. No, you're not him.' Sarah Jane is so much more open-minded."

The Doctor turned to Eliana. "Gets a little used to, having to get to know me all over again."

Eliana looked at him, her eyes glittering with awe. "But is it _really _true Doctor? Can you really travel through time?"

The Doctor gestured towards the ajar TARDIS door, smiling. "Why not see for yourself?"

Before Merlin could jump in and object, a loud, ear-pounding screech ripped through the sky. The three of them, the timelord, the sorcerer and the princess, all looked up to see a big, black, flying creature, similar to a dragon. Merlin instinctively grabbed Eliana's wrist. "Don't just stand there, god dammit! Let's get inside!"

But the Doctor had another idea. He looked up in the sky and laughed. "Haven't seen one of these in a while!" he grabbed Eliana's wrist and pulled her out of Merlin's grasp. "Get in the TARDIS, it's safer in here!"

"In no way, shape or form is that tiny box safer!" yelled Merlin.

The Doctor pulled Eliana in and held out a hand to Merlin. "You perfectly well know that it's bigger on the inside."


	4. Questions Asked, Questions Answered

**A/N: **In my first days of high school I have discovered the teachers are much more talkative than I'm used to. It's always the same, "We're doing this for you, to not make the mistakes I did when I was your age" and the "You're in the International Baccaloriate (Or however the fudge you spell it) program, and you need to take this seriously." I've also discovered high school just pushes you away from your entertainment times. I only have time to watch one bloody episode of TV before having to go to bed, and hardly enough time to write fanfiction. Moral of story:

They aren't kidding. High school is a shit ton of work.

* * *

What was inside that box took Eliana's breath away. It was simple as that, really. She wasn't surprised it was bigger on the inside, that all of this was in one, unsuspicous, unimportant police phone box, but she was surprised it was real. The memories she have regained felt like an unforgettable dream, something of a product of a child's imagination. She felt like a little girl in her imaginary castle, a daydream, a fantasy. All she could say was what everyone else could say, one word:

"Brilliant."

That was the word to describe the Doctor, his TARDIS and the adrenaline pumping through her as she heard the screeching outside the door and the timelord running all around the TARDIS console pulling switches and pushing buttons.

And when the TARDIS took off, as she fought for her balance as the TARDIS bumped and turned through the time vortex, she was shaken into reality. It was real.

She looked over at Merlin, whose stomach was against the floor and was clinging onto the railing. The Doctor looked like a little boy riding a rollercoaster, handling controls with both of his hands, looking up and screaming, "Geronimo!"

_How is it possible it's bigger on the inside? _She began to wonder as her daydream high started to diminish. _How can he travel through time and space?_

Then when she looked at all of the flashing lights of the console and felt the nauseous motion of space travel, and when she saw the Doctor in his new body flying the ship like nothing was wrong in the world, she wondered, _Why me?_

"Why her?"

Setting down his cup of tea a little too forcefully onto his desk, Colonel Mace jabbed his finger at the CCTV footage. "And who is that bloody man with her?"

Martha Jones gave out a silent sigh and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead due to a long day. "Well sir, I'm pretty sure you can talk it out with your daughter about the man, but about the stealing, I think you should find the cause of it."

Colonel Mace's nostrils flared, his hand twitching as he fought the temptation to grab the cup of tea and smash it against the wall. "I've raised her well. I give her more than just a few pounds a week, so tell me, Mary…"

"It's Martha, sir." Doctor Jones reminded him. Her superior has been growing very old, or as she might suspect, feeling aftershocks from alien attacks. He hasn't been the same ever since he last saw the Doctor. Certainly, he was going mad, either that or he had something urgent to discuss with Martha.

"…Martha, why would she do this?"

Martha had opened her mouth to reply when he waved his hand, taking a sip of his tea and forgetting the anger he had from the reaction to the CCTV footage. "Martha, I've asked you to meet me in my office so I can show you some CCTV footage."

"Which you've already shown me, sir." she told him, slow and calmly.

"No, not that." He pulled up another clip of a road and right in the middle, there was the TARDIS. The Doctor's former companion covered her mouth with her hand, a smile growing behind it. The colonel pressed play and a man appeared on front of the TARDIS, banging and kicking at the door. Quickly, a girl, most likely a teenager, came running towards the scene just as someone opening the door popped his head out.

The video stopped and the colonel grunted. "The bloody thing taped over the rest of the footage, but based on bystander's accounts, those two, the man and the girl jumped into the TARDIS along with the Doctor."

Martha looked over at Colonel Mace. "I am aware that UNIT has begun monitoring the Doctor 24/7 now, but why does it concern you that he has picked up a few new companions?"

Mace grunted. "Well, for one, the man seemed hostile. Secondly, we looked up on the Nilmer family; those two are so normal their profile combined is only one page."

"Why have you called me in?" the former companion asked. "Why me?"

"Well, we have a list of the Doctor's former companions to pick from but you were the most convenient. We need you to go back to the site where the TARDIS had taken off and approach the Doctor." the colonel looked at Martha. "Usually the Doctor leaves a big print on the universe, a big grandiose gesture. This time, however, there's no time phenomenon involved with these two. The TARDIS hadn't crash-landed in their backyard or anything like that. We need you to find out what the Doctor is hiding."

Martha raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "But Colonel, if he is hiding something, we should just respect him and leave him to it."

"It's hard for the Doctor to hide things, but this one he's managed to hide. How, I don't know. But you're going to find out, Ms. Jones."

Martha sighed and nodded, rising up to the occasion as she had always done. "Yes sir."

* * *

The nauseating twists and turns of time and space travel abruptly stopped, leaving Merlin lying on a chair like a rag doll, Eliana breathless and clinging onto the railing, and the Doctor, already heading towards the door.

"Come on you lot!" beamed the Doctor, opening the door. "Feast your eyes on this!"

Eliana came running to the door whereas Merlin stood up and murmured, "I'm getting too old for this." The Doctor came running back inside to push Merlin out of the TARDIS and onto the alien soil outside.

"Good girl!" praised the Doctor, stroking the TARDIS door. "Oh what a beautiful sight!"

The three have landed right on front of a futuristic building with glass windows and a metal frame. Inside people bustled about, some big and some small, others blue and others green, even some that had four legs, five, maybe six. But that wasn't what caught their attention. It was the floating city on front of them.

Floppy, wooden bridges connected big white structures held in the sky as if by magic, and around them the sky was a rich, royal blue. It took them a moment to realize that they were in the clouds, causing the moist, cool atmosphere.

"Azurterrene, the future humans call it," said the Doctor, "because it's in the sky and it has an atmosphere humans can breathe in."

"Oh my god," said Eliana, grinning. "It's true!"

"Like you ever doubted me." The Doctor patted her back and turned to Merlin. "So, would you want to explore the universe's biggest mall behind us?"

Merlin fumed. "Like I would."

"They have a store for every single time period of every single inhabited planet!" cried the Doctor, turn Merlin to face the building. "If you want you can buy some chainmail!"

Merlin just glared at the timelord.

The Doctor smiled mischiveiously. "There's capes with Camelot's crest on them. Neckerchiefs, how about those?"

Then he turned to Eliana. "The future human race have concocted their best cheesecake and are selling it in there, if you want. There's also a lot of clothes, let me tell you."

Before Eliana could open her mouth the Doctor handed her a plastic card. "The universe owes me a few favors. Pretty sure they won't mind a human girl running about buying things."

The princess jumped up and down excitedly. "Merlin never let me handle a credit card, nevertheless let me go anywhere alone!" she gave the Doctor a quick hug. "Thank you!"

Just as she was about to run into the mall Merlin stopped her. "What makes you think she won't get hurt or kidnapped, Doctor?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh Merlin, what an old man." He hopped into the TARDIS and hopped back out, placing a pair of glasses on Eliana's face. "There." Then he threw Merlin a small monitor. "And there. You'll see everything Eliana sees. Eliana, feel free to take them off and put them under a mound of clothes while you're in the fitting room."

Eliana nodded, waving at the two as she ran into the mall, vanishing behind a group of Ood. This left the Doctor and Merlin alone to talk.

"Cup of tea?" the Doctor offered, pointing at the floating city of Azurterrene. "I know a great shop that…"

"I'm am not trusting those bridges." Merlin frowned. "I wouldn't enjoy falling to my death either."

The Doctor nodded, looking down at his shoes. He fidgeted for a while, taking in the sights around him and straightening his bowtie. Then, in effort to feed his restless nature he said, "Cup of tea in the mall then?"

Although Merlin didn't want to, he nodded and the two, those thousand-year old men walked through the doors and into the big maze of a mall inside.

The Doctor located the shop quite easily, leading Merlin to the 16th floor in the 4th hallway. The two sat at the table and after they had ordered, Merlin did nothing but look at the monitor the Doctor had given him.

"Eliana's found that cheesecake place you told her about," murmured Merlin, "and now she's eating it."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, studying Merlin, his worried stance and his stiff figure. "You know Merlin, after living this long I've gotten good at reading people."

"I've lived so long I know I'm worried about Eliana."

"Yeah, but there comes a time when you need to give her _some _freedom."

Merlin looked up and glared at the Doctor. "Are you questioning my parenting?"

The Doctor nodded, honest to the bone. "Yes, I am."

The sorcerer sighed, prying his eyes off of the monitor. "After what happened in Camelot, no matter how much we tried, it was hard to hold trust in the highest manner. Sometimes Gwen requested resources instead of a truce. Other times knights would kill without questioning. The death of Arthur shook the entire kingdom, but Gwen was strong."

Merlin blinked rapidly, keeping tears in. "The kingdom fell when she died from old age. None of the knights could take the throne; all were pushing each other towards the throne but none were brave enough to grab the crown. Without a leader I watched as the kingdom collapsed on itself."

The Doctor nodded, pursing his lips together. "And what were her dying words?"

Merlin looked up at the Doctor, sniffing. "I was there beside her, holding her hand, watching as life faded from her eyes as she said, 'Think about it Merlin, years into the future Eliana and Arthur are living together, happy.'" He tried to shake it off when the waitress came and set their tea down on the table but couldn't, a tear falling down his face, "What crushes me as every century passed by is the fact that you haven't showed up on my doorstep yet, and maybe, just maybe, Arthur would never live again."

"I'm not a phyciatrist," said the Doctor, "but I do know Eliana is fourteen and she is old enough to defend for herself. You've done a great job, Merlin, but it's time you've given her freedom."

The Doctor just has a way of being likeable and convincing, and even after a few hundred years knowing him, Merlin still fell for his charm. He nodded and took a sip of tea, spending the rest of the time savoring his alien beverage.

* * *

Martha couldn't help feeling like a teenager surrounded by her over-protective parents while waiting for a friend. She kept glancing behind her at the dozens of UNIT cars and soldiers, fully armed and ready to fire. Two soldiers stood on either side of her, wearing much more armor than any of the others. Colonel Mace even had tried to force a bullet-proof vest on her but she insisted the Doctor wasn't dangerous.

"You can never be so sure, even if he is for the greater good." Colonel Mace had told her. "That ship of his is dangerous as well. It can wipe out an entire army for Christ's sake."

Martha could brush off a bullet-proof vest, but she couldn't convince Mace to withdraw the entire force of UNIT soldiers. Just as she expected, she heard the TARDIS and its familiar sound; and when the door opened she just had to blush.

A man with black hair and pale skin came out first, and when setting his eyes on UNIT, held his arms up, slightly dazed and whispering something.

Next, a girl came out, her eyebrows raised and shopping bags hanging from her arms.

The last person came out, and Martha knew he was the Doctor; he stood out from the rest. His grin quickly disappeared from his face when he saw UNIT.

"Hello Doctor," greeted Martha, ignoring the heat crawling up her face. "and I assume these are your companions?"

The Doctor just stared as he strode towards her, facing her eye to eye. They were the same height now, but the Doctor was a stranger to Martha now.

"Why on Earth is an entire army surrounding an exact spot on a quiet street?" demanded the Doctor. "Most people here haven't bloody seen a soldier before! You may as well write a check to the city for compensation!"

Martha struggled to maintain her professional composure. "I insisted you weren't dangerous, but Colonel Mace insisted an entire force of UNIT soldiers should accompany me just in case."

"And he didn't even bother putting armor on you?"

"I insisted I shouldn't wear it."

"And you couldn't make him let you go by yourself?"

"A bullet-proof vest is one thing, but an entire force is another."

The Doctor pursed his lips together, holding his arms out in exasperation. He looked over Martha's shoulder at all of the soldiers and all of their guns pointed at him, and the two soldiers on either side of her, their cold, black pistols so close to his skull he could feel them. Then he looked at Martha. She wanted to hold out a hand and say, "Nice to meet you," instead of giving him a hug and saying, "Nice to see you again!" He was a stranger now, and the Doctor she knew is dead.

The timelord caught her drift, fortunately, holding out his hand for Martha to shake it. "Nice to see you again, Martha."

Martha smiled. "Nice to meet you, Doctor."

The two soldiers beside Martha watched cautiously as they shook hands, their pistols drawing closer. The Doctor jerked back, glaring at the two and looking over at Martha again. "So tell me; what are you doing here?"

"UNIT has started monitoring you 24/7…"

"Oh great!" the Doctor interjected. "Just what I need! UNIT on my back at all times! May as well pick up companions from other planets, if that's what they want!"

"…but we haven't butted in until now, because Colonel Mace is curious to why you picked these two to travel with you."

The Doctor turned around on his heels, staring up at the sky. "My god! Is that what it is these days? Is 'Who will be the Doctor's next companion?' a reality television show? Can I turn on the telly and see a slideshow of a bunch of celebrities and why they should travel with me?"

"No, because there has always been a reason."

"No bloody reason that you can find on records, that's for sure, and I'm pretty sure there was no tangible reason why I picked up any of my companions these last few regenerations."

"A reason we could capture from CCTV, or of the like."

"So what do you want to know then?"

"Why you picked these two up. Colonel Mace's curiousity, nothing more." Then realizing how unsinciere that sounded, Martha added, "I'm just following orders."

The Doctor nodded, staring down at his shoes. "I'm just following orders, Doctor, I'm just following orders. That's what you all say these days. I just want to meet the big boss why gives those orders. Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."

He looked behind him at Eliana and Merlin, who both have been staring at UNIT like they were a display. He looked back at Martha and said, "Merlin is _the _Merlin from the stories."

Martha nodded, looking at the sorcerer. "And the girl?""

That's when the Doctor grinned, finding something he can connect with his former companion without seeming like a complete stranger. "Eliana."

"Eliana?" Martha repeated, smiling. She had always wanted to meet Eliana when she was older, but not like this. "That's amazing! Look at her, she looks just like her mother. And her father, if you squint."

"Definitely. It was hard not squeezing her cheeks or cooing all over the place."

No matter how odd it seemed, trying to talk to a stranger as if she'd know him for quite a while, she took great pleasure to see how big Eliana had gotten. She may not know it, but there were so many people who had looked after her, whether it was the Torchwood team while the Doctor got into dicey situations or one of his companions while on the TARDIS.

Martha turned around and yelled, "Objective reached, you lot, you can all leave now!"

The Doctor stood beside her, slightly impressed, as by one single shout, Martha had dismissed a large body of soldiers. When they had left in their cars, Martha turned back around at the TARDIS, Eliana, the sorcerer and the Doctor, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. Traveling with the Doctor was brilliant, exhilarating and random, just like this.

"May I?" asked Martha, motioning towards their house. "I've just realized that my husband won't be here for a couple of minutes."

"Uh—erm, sure, I guess." Merlin stammered, walking towards his home.

Once he had closed the door, Eliana was seated beside Martha in the living room where she had been on her third birthday as the Doctor stood at the doorway. The Doctor and his new face sat beside her also. She sat on the couch was random strangers but those strangers have known her for years.

It was after a few silent moments when Martha broke the silence. "Aren't you proud, Doctor? Your little girl has grown up!"

The Doctor replied giddily, "I'm just smiling on the inside. I mean look at these cheeks!" he starting pinching Eliana's cheeks as she grew red. "I used to pinch these after I'd gotten back into the TARDIS! She was so small back then, don't you remember? Jack used to say they lost her in all of their paperwork while Torchwood was taking care of her!"

"I always wondered who she would be when she got older," said Martha, "but now I know."

"Can you two please stop treating me like a baby?" then seeing their surprised faces, she added, "Please?"

"Oh, um, of course!" the Doctor stood up, looking down at the two of them. "I'll just go…and talk to Merlin!"

Once he disappeared into the kitchen Martha looked at Eliana. "Do you remember me?"

Eliana could barely remember Martha. She was familiar, but that was pretty much it. She shook her head and Martha sighed, setting her hand on a pillow. "I'm guessing you remember the Doctor and his old face."

Incredibly shy due to lack of experience with strangers, Eliana nodded. She wanted to say more, as Martha was one of the people who took part in raising her, but kept her mouth shut. Her voice would've trembled and she would've felt very out of place.

"You might wonder why the Doctor came back to see you again." Martha continued. "But I'm guessing it was because he couldn't simply let you go. It was really hard for him to put you on Merlin's doorstep in the first place. But I think there was something that fascinated him about a little baby; there you were, in his arms, barely knowing at thing, barely a year old. Then there was him, with the entire universe in his head and having lived almost a thousand years. He was always interested in big stars, civilizations, but there was something he saw in a small newborn human."

"But why did he choose me to travel with him?" asked Eliana, urging herself to say more. "There must be a lot of other people out there who would love to travel the universe. It's bloody amazing."

"It is," agreed Martha, "but the Doctor's fascinated in humans, our sentimentality, or urge to protect ourselves and our young. The raw human personality, that's what he saw in us. Your parents were great people, so he felt obliged to do what he did. Personally, he took me in after we saved an entire hospital from choking on the moon."

"What?"

Martha smiled. "Oh, long story."

"But who are my parents?"

That's when her expression turned a little sad. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, sweetheart. There are many questions left unanswered in the world, and they should just stay that way."


	5. Just Like Old Times

**A/N: **I always liked the 'characters watch themselves on TV' sort of fanfiction, but since I'm sure someone has already done that for Doctor Who, I just decided to incorporate that a little. I mean, why not? I'll try to not make an author's note in the next chapter just because. Oh, and I couldn't stay away from the tempting possibility that Torchwood would get involved.

_There are many questions left unanswered in the world, but they can't stay that way forever. The reason why the man across the street buys animal blood can't remain undiscovered. Why someone murdered a little girl won't go unruled. _

_So in the entirety of time and space, why can't I know who my parents are?_

Martha tried to steer around the question just as Merlin had done in the first eleven years of her life. Eliana always assumed her father was Merlin, only he insisted her calling him by his first name, but when Martha told her that her parents were important, it became clear to her Merlin was just a relative.

But is he an uncle, or a cousin or what? There were so many questions Eliana wanted to ask but knew they wouldn't be answered, and it nearly tore her apart. Should she just go on in her safe, normal life or should she ask the Doctor to show her the answers to her questions? Certainly there was a secret beneath the surface and she definitely wanted to uncover it.

_What on Earth were those dragons before we got into the TARDIS? Who are my parents? Who is Merlin? What is going on between Merlin and the Doctor? How did they meet? How old is the Doctor? What time is it? When is that project due again? How…?_

"Eliana?"

She opened her eyes when she heard the Doctor's voice. He had a trace of a smile on his lips, leaning on the television cabinet. She had fallen asleep on the couch whilst watching some random show she did not know the name of.

"What are you watching?" he asked, looking at the screen.

"Oh, I dunno," replied Eliana, rubbing her eyes and fluffing the pillow her head had sat on, "by the looks of it it's some random sci-fi show."

The dashing male protagonist appeared on screen, and the Doctor nodded, tapping the television. "Oh, I know this show! It's that, that one, with the alien who looks human and he saves Earth from random bad aliens and stuff like that—oh, that's a classic."

The camera rotated around him, with his converse and his suit. The Doctor strode over to the couch and sat beside Eliana. "I'm glad it works. I upgraded your telly so it can access shows from different alternate universes."

Eliana raised an eyebrow. "How is that even possible?"

"Used the sonic screwdriver a few times."

"But different universes? How?"

"Oh, traveling to different universes is nearly impossible these days! But signals are much more different. It's easier, to be short."

The Doctor got comfortable, kicking off his shoes and draping a blanket over his lap. "These shows come from a universe where you and I are just actors on a screen, so therefore we have shows about our lives. Isn't that grand?"

Eliana sat up, looking over at the Doctor. "So you mean…"

"Yes, that's the tenth you're looking at right now!" the Doctor pointed at the screen. "Wasn't I handsome?"

The Doctor with his old face was running around a metal and glass building with a monster trailing behind him. Following closely behind was Martha, running in high heels and a dress. Eliana became interested, and after a couple hours they had watched through two seasons, and just as the Doctor started regenerating and the tears started falling, Merlin walked into the living room carrying a tray laden with cups of tea and crisps.

"What are you two watching?" he asked, setting the tray down, feeling slightly uncomfortable talking to a crying teenager and whimpering timelord.

"Doctor Who!" cried Eliana, just as the current Doctor sprouted through the bright light, yelling in the process. "It's this show based on the Doctor's life!"

Merlin took a cup of tea from the tray and sat in his armchair. "So there really is reality television show about you?"

"No, a real one and in this one I'm just a character!" replied the Doctor, suddenly grinning, watching himself run around the screen. "Oh god, did you hear that? My voice just cracked!"

Eliana was smiling too now. "Is there a next season?"

"Would you eat something first, Eliana? It's been forever since you've eaten!" Merlin motioned at the tray, a few bags of crisps on it. "You too Doctor, if you need any food."

The Doctor grabbed two bags and tossed Eliana one, pressing a few buttons to bring up the fifth season. The three were only a few minutes into the first episode when something outside screeched.

"Oh god!" the Doctor groaned, writhing on the couch and grumpily putting his shoes on. "It's back!"

Merlin jumped up from his seat, running towards the window. "It's a dragon!"

"A dragon?" Eliana repeated, looking out the window as well. "Oh, it really is one!"

"It's not a dragon," said the Doctor, "it's a Reaper. They appear when the balance of time is disrupted. Haven't seen them since my ninth days, mind you!" He motioned the two out of the house and towards the TARDIS. "I've been trying to shake them off, can't figure out what I've done wrong!"

As Merlin sprinted towards the TARDIS, he grinned, feeling nostalgia fill his veins. "Just like the old times!"

As Eliana entered the TARDIS just after the Doctor, the Doctor grinned. "Has Merlin ever told you he's had woes with dragons?"

"Yeah, but that's when I was little, never thought he was being serious."

"Oh, I was. I never lie to you Eliana!" Merlin ran towards the nearest railing just as the Doctor took off.

* * *

"Martha, do you see that?"

Martha looked up from her lap. "What?"

Her husband pointed up into the sky, his eyes snapping back at the wheel. The convertible provided an excellent view of the starry night sky, but there was a big, black screeching shape flying up in the sky chasing a blue dot.

To her husband's surprise, Martha grinned, staring up at the black velvet sky. "Oh, I see that all right." She kissed him on the cheek and fell asleep with cool, country air running through her hair.

* * *

It was after thirty seconds of major turbulence in effort to shake the Reaper off when Merlin gathered enough breath to say, "Are you done yet?!"

The Doctor, breathless as well, screamed at the top of his lungs, "Oh, FAR FROM IT!"

The TARDIS shook and rumbled, squeaking with each turn and creaking with each twist. Eliana fell back and grabbed onto a railing, a few feet away from a doorway in which water was starting to flood.

"DOCTOR!" screamed Eliana. "SOMETHING'S LEAKING!"

The Doctor took his eyes off of the controls for one second and said, "It's just the swimming pool! There's only sixty six hundred thousand gallons of water in there!"

"Bloody hell!" gulped Eliana, struggling to stay on her feet. "Why can't you just land on another planet or another time then?"

"Great idea, but traveling in space is a little too risky now!"

"Well you aren't going to let a dragon fly around Earth, aren't you?" yelled Merlin.

The Doctor flipped a couple switches and twisted a few knobs and said, "I'm traveling back a century at a time, then I'll fly back to our time, yeah? He'll expect us to travel further back into the past but then the TARDIS will rubber-band back into the future!"

"That's insanely brilliant!" exclaimed Eliana, attempting to climb up to the console but failing miserably.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" yelled the Doctor, and the TARDIS traveled back, back in time.

"1913!"

"1813!"

"1713…bloody hell, it's getting bumpy!"

"1613!"

"2005!"

"2005?" repeated Merlin, flustered. "We were in bloody 2013!"

"Random place on Earth!" cried the Doctor, ignoring Merlin. "Anywhere on Earth!"

"Cardiff!" Eliana spit out, desperately hoping the trip would end soon. Fortunately, after a big jerk forwards, the TARDIS landed on solid ground, the screeching ceased. Eliana and Merlin both let out a big sigh of relief and the Doctor ran out the door. "Oh, what luck!" the Doctor squealed. "Haven't seen Jack in a while!"

Before Merlin and Eliana could even collect their bearings they both hurriedly followed Doctor out into the salty air. He was babbling as if someone was listening.

"…might as well, even though I'm slightly breaking one of my rules, I've already landed, haven't I?" but then he stopped to think, staring at the ground. "Hmm, wouldn't enjoy that though, having all time happen at once again…"

He looked back up when he heard footsteps, greeted by the sight of Captain Jack Harkness running towards him with a backpack.

"Oi, Jack!" the Doctor waved as Jack halted on front of him, panting. "Haven't seen you in a while!"

"Haven't seen you either!" Jack panted, wiping his forehead. He looked up at the Doctor, trying to take in his face. "I have to admit, I like your tenth."

"Oh…oh!" the Doctor crossed his arms, smiling. "This isn't my tenth! It's my eleventh!"

Jack crinkled his eyebrows. "You have to got to be more careful."

"No, no! You see, I had a little monster chasing me through time, so I had to park in a random place and time on Earth…it's a good thing I landed here though, it won't hurt to refuel."

"So…I've seen you in your tenth?"

That's when the Doctor grinned, taking delight in saying, "Spoilers."

"Oh great!" said Jack, exasperated. "I ran that whole way for a Doctor that isn't compatible with my timeline!"

"It isn't that bad! I mean, while we're here, you can meet Eliana!"

That's when Jack's eyes grew wide. "You mean…"

"Yes!"

He looked over at Eliana, who was leaning against the TARDIS, trying to recover from the wild ride. Jack walked over to her and gave her a good look.

Eliana looked up. "Oh great," she said, "yet another stranger staring at me."

"This is Jack!" the Doctor exclaimed, throwing his arm around the captain's neck. "He took care of you for a week or so along with the rest of Torchwood. Remember?"

"Are you expecting me to remember everything that has happened to me in the first two and a half years of my life?"

"No, just wondering if you remembered."

"Well I don't."

"In that case," Jack butted in, holding out his hand. "Nice to see you, Eliana, all grown up. It was literately a month ago I saw you as a baby."

It wasn't something you heard everyday, having a stranger tell you it was a month ago they saw you a as a baby, but Eliana smiled and shook his hand. "Yeah."

Jack took a few moments taking in the reality of Eliana's appearance, then turned to the Doctor. "So, what brings you here to good ol' Cardiff?"

"Oh, just picked up a Reaper somewhere in the middle of my tenth carnation." The Doctor shrugged like it was nothing, taking a few steps around. "Been trying to shake it off…"

"Hold that thought." Jack cut him off, turned around towards the direction he had came from. A familiar sound came from behind them, and slowly a blue box appeared just a few meters from the Doctor's TARDIS.

"Really?" exclaimed the Doctor, running both of his hands through his hair. "Was I really that precise?"

Jack turned back to the Doctor, his expression bewildered. "What is this, Doctor?"

"I just so happened to stop in Cardiff a few moments before my tenth did!"

Jack pointed at the TARDIS behind him. "So that Doctor's compatible with me?"

The Doctor nodded vigorously. "Yes! Mind clutching the outside of the TARDIS? I mean, that's how it happened last time."

Without question, Jack nodded, saluted at the Doctor, then held on to the TARDIS as it disappeared.

There was a few brief moments of confusion between the three, until Eliana said, "What just happened?"

The Doctor ruffled her hair and opened the TARDIS door. "Oh, nothing. Just Jack."

"Handsome bloke," commented Merlin, "when did you meet him?"

"In my ninth." replied the Doctor, flipping a few more switches. "Although I can't help mentioning that whole scene was bizarre."

"Oh," Eliana smirked, "it definitely was."

"No, it just confirmed my suspicions."

"How so?"

The Doctor turned to her, his expression grim. "You, Eliana, have defied all odds. All I had to do from the start was give you to your father but I hadn't. I messed with a fixed point in time but even after all this, you're still okay and nothing odd is going on."


End file.
